Administrative Rules of the Unified Court System & Uniform Rules of the Trial Courts

Rules of the Chief
Administrative Judge

PART 132. Unified Court
System Employee Suggestion Incentive Program

Commercial
reuse of the Rules as they appear on this web site is
prohibited. The official version of the Rules published
in the NYCRR is available on Westlaw.

132.1 Program

Section
132.1 Program.

(a) Purpose. The Employee Suggestion Incentive Program (hereinafter
"program") is designed to encourage and reward unusual
and meritorious suggestions by State employees and retired
State employees that promote efficiency and economy in the
operation of the Unified Court System.

(b) Eligibility. All State employees, persons who retire
from State service, and persons who leave State service for
reasons other than retirement shall be eligible to participate
in the program, and to receive awards thereunder, subject
to the following restrictions:

(1) Except as the Chief Administrator may otherwise provide,
no State employee may receive an award for a suggestion:

(i) that relates to his or her duties where such duties
involve planning or research;

(ii) where, as part of his or her duties, such employee
is assigned a particular problem to solve and the suggestion
contributes to the solution of such problem; or

(iii) where such employee serves on a special committee
and the suggestion falls within the scope of the committee's
assignment.

(2) No justice or judge of the Unified Court System may
receive an award for a suggestion.

(3) No person who has left State service for reasons other
than retirement may receive an award for a suggestion except
where such suggestion was submitted prior to his or her departure
from service.

(4) Where a person dies after submitting a suggestion, and
an award is approved for such suggestion, the award, if it
consists of a cash payment, will be paid to the deceased person's
estate.

(c) Program coordinator. There shall be an Employee Suggestion
Incentive Program Coordinator who shall be responsible for
operation of the program. The coordinator shall:

(1) ensure that suggestion forms are available to employees;

(2) receive suggestions and screen them to determine whether
eligibility requirements are met;

(3) solicit comments from appropriate administrative and
supervisory authorities; and

(4) transmit all suggestions to the Employee Suggestion
Incentive Program Committee.

(d) Employee Suggestion Incentive Program Committee; review
of suggestions. There shall be an Employee Suggestion Incentive
Program Committee, consisting of the Deputy Chief Administrative
Judges and the Deputy Chief Administrator for Management Support.
At appropriate intervals, the committee shall review suggestions
received from the program coordinator and shall recommend
to the Chief Administrator those that it believes merit an
award under the program, including but not limited to suggestions
that would be significantly effective in eliminating safety
hazards, reducing operational costs or streamlining procedures.
The committee also shall propose an appropriate award for
each such suggestion. The Chief Administrator shall then make
a final determination thereon.

(e) Awards. Each eligible person who submits a suggestion
that is approved for an award, as provided herein, shall receive
a Certificate of Merit signed by the Chief Judge of the State
of New York. Where the Chief Administrator determines that
implementation of a suggestion will produce or has produced
significant benefits to the Unified Court System, the person
submitting such suggestion also shall receive a cash payment.
Such cash payment shall be fixed in an amount determined in
the discretion of the Chief Administrator and shall be no
less than $25 and no more than 10 percent of the actual or
projected savings to be derived in the first year following
implementation of the suggestion.